A Coruna Spain May 28 and May 29, 2011

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Arrive A Coruna, Spain 8:00 am, depart 5:00 pm

We had a very nice time in A Coruna (or La Coruna) Spain. It is Sunday and most of the shops are closed and the tram/trolley around the city did not start until 12:00 noon.

Tram around the city and beach area.

Navigation Tower

Narrow streets

We walked around in the old town “Ciudad Vieja” and then found Plaza de Maria Pita where they were having a 5K fun run and activities in the square.  We found a sidewalk café and got a cappuccino and watch for several minutes.

Plaza Maris Pita in A Coruna Spain

Soccer Stadium and beaches

We are all waiting on the tram

The local beer in A Coruna Spain

 

Beaches in A Coruna Spain

2^nd-century  Roman Lighthouse“Torre de Hercules”

Tram road around city.

Afterwards we walked to the beach area. People were beginning to get out on the streets and the beaches by noon. We walked along the beach to the tram station and waited for a ride around the city back to the ship. A Coruna has a World Heritage site, the only working roman lighthouse in the world a 2^nd-century “Torre de Hercules” and still in use. We were on the way back to the ship and were walking by the Marina and noticed a café and decided to check if we could get internet and check email before getting on the ship. Nice place called Nemo Bar. We watched the boats going in and out of the marina and the French Open on TV.

Nemo Bar at the Marina                                   Edward checking his email

Above is the cash reister in Nemo Bar.  It is similar to an ATM.  Waiter inserts money and the machine returns the change.  The  waiter has an ID bracelet to activate an entry.

This is the gate to get in the marina slips.  Note the sides look like a sail and the door is similar to a hatchway and porthole.  If you don’t have a key you have to buzz in for access.  Too Cool!

This is the best map ever!!!! 

A pastry or bakery shop map. 

Monday, May 30, 2011

Day at sea

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bordeaux, France arrive 6:30 am

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bordeaux, France, depart 6:00 am then Cruising Gironde Estuary

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Brest, France arrive 8:00 am, depart 5:00 pm

Friday, June 3, 2011,

St Malo, France, arrive 8:00 am depart 5:45 pm

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Cherboure, France Arrive 7:00 am depart 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Zeebrugge (Brussels) Belgium Arrive 8:00 am depart 5:00 pm

Monday, June 6, 2011

Arrive Amsterdam, The Netherlands 7:00 am.

Train from Amsterdam to Brussels, Belgium.

Leixoes and Porto, Portugal

Depart Lisbon, Portugal 5:00 pm The weather was very warm in Lisbon but after we got out in the Atlantic again it cooled off and the waves were high again but not as much only 7-12 feet.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Leixoes (Porto) Portugal arrive 8:00 am depart 5:00 pm

Porto does not have as steep hills as Lisbon. We walked from the ship to the light rail line. We were told just go down to the right, cross the bridge over the river and the light rail line is there on the other side. WELL, it was about a ¼ mile to the bridge and the bridge was large. It was a draw bridge for freighters! Not just a bridge of a river. We got to the station and the English language sign had been scratched off (I think it was by the guy helping all of us to buy our tickets and he was getting tips for helping) . When we arrived at the next station I noticed the English flag on the ticket machine and mentioned it to Edward. The lady across from us said “Oh yes, all the ticket machines have instructions in English”. The ride was quite nice to the old town of Porto. We looked at the map and headed to the river – down hill.

They have boats that look similar to Gondolas in Italy and the river is very busy. It is a very charming town and we had a very pleasant time.

Boats on the river in Porto Portugal

 

I found a restaurant with wi-fi and was able to get the blog published. The restaurant PIMMS was excellent place. Since we were there for so long we felt obligated to have something for the use of the internet. We each had a quiche with a small salad and 5 glasses of wine for 23 Euros.

Edward with the owner of PIMMS restaurant.

Plaza in Porto Portugal

Train Station

 

Elaine by the Douro River in Porto Portugal.  Scenic bridge.

Lisbon Portugal, May 26-27, 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day at sea. Scheduled to arrive this afternoon in Lisbon, Portugal 6:30 pm.

M/S Prinsendam one of the smallest ships.  About 900 passengers. Very nice to be able to get in the smaller cities and waterways.
As predicted by the Captain we had a rough night at sea.  The waves are 12-18 feet and more and winds of 48-55+ mph or Force 9 Gale, and temperature of 62 degrees.  The ship was rolling from side to side up and down.  It was difficult to sleep and we woke up several times during the night.  It was not the gentle rocking we had previous nights.  This morning the waves and wind have calmed a little and not as bad as last night but it is raining and conditions are much the same.  We must be going at a different heading as the ship in not rolling and rocking as much (yes, it is still difficult to walk) but not has noisy as it was with the up and down motion. This will be another day of staying in the cabin or inside the ship. We are happy to have our nice size room and the balcony. Although we can’t sit comfortably on the balcony but we can go out and check the temperature and sea conditions by just walking a few steps. I’m watching the French Open and typing and Edward is reading his book on the Kindle.
We arrive in Lisbon about 6:40 –m and it is very nice weather.  We decide to get off the ship ad see some of the old town since it is near the ship.  We do not know where we are going except we can see buildings up the hillside.




 

Aqua Ducts          
            

Local Portugal Beer

Street Cars all over the city
We follow several people from the ship but soon they scatter in all directions and we are wondering around on these small narrow steep streets and can’t see any reference points.  It is very frustrating and then we get to a street with a small street car.  We get on it and just start riding it and looking at a map we have to see if we can find a street name.  Finally I see a name and we start getting a reference point and finally the street car comes to a plaza with taxis, metro and  sidewalk cafes.  We are so relieved to realize where we are so we take a break and have a glass of wine.  2 glasses of wine for a 4 Euros. 

Not a bad price.  Now that we know where we are we walk to one of the main pedestrian walkway DOWNHILL to the ship.  The walkway has many restaurants and sidewalk cares and they all want us to stop and eat.  They are quite persistent so finally instead of trying to tell them we didn’t want to eat or that we had already eaten we finally decided it would sound better if we just told them “Maybe tomorrow”  That seemed to be a much more polite way to get them to leave us alone.

Finally we get back to the ship and eat dinner.  After dinner we went out on our balcony to see the lights of Lisbon and have a glass of wine.  We have to be ready for the tour at 8:45 am so we finally get to bed.
Friday, May 27, 2011
We took a tour today of Lisbon provided by Vacation Vignettes.  We had 2 buses.  We could not believe how they could maneuver those big buses around the small turning and steep roads in the old part of Lisbon.  We went out to the Presidential Palace then to the very famous bakery and had their famous “cakes”. It was a small custard tart – delicious!  And we also had a Coca Cola or mineral water, etc.  It is a a very large place and has many rooms.  I guess over the years they have continued to enlarge it.  There were several tour buses and tourists in this area. 

Bakery with the custard pastry
 
  Very small Coke
Custard pastry on the right
 
About a block away is the large Cathedral and a park and not far away is the Monument to the Explorers on the river.  We really got to see a lot of the city Old and New on this tour.  I know we would not have seen several of these as they were too far away to walk and I’m not sure we would have even taken a tour.
 

Depart Lisbon, Portugal 5:00 pm
The weather was very warm in Lisbon but after we got out in the Atlantic again it cooled off and the waves were high again but not as much on 7-12 feet.

New York City Cruising begins on M/S Prinsendam and Martha’s Vineyard

Monday, May, 16, 2011
Up at 5:00 am to leave Williamsburg. Reba drives us to Richmond, VA to catch an 8:00 am train to New York City. It was very foggy that morning but we got there in plenty of time.  It was a nice relaxing train ride except for Edward’s Kindle going out on him. We get to NYC and take taxi to hotel. Edward calls Kindle support and they tell him the problem he is having cannot be fixed but they can send him another one over night – that is a problem as we are leaving tomorrow on the cruise ship. The tech said we could buy another one at a Best Buy, or Target, etc. So off we go to the Best Buy in NYC about 6 blocks away. He buys a new one for the trip and was able to get his archives to download from all the books he bought last year.  They said when we return we can contact them again and they will send a new one and we can return the broken one. 
We found a great little Italian restaurant for dinner “Pomodoro Rosso” on about 70th and Columbus Ave.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
We get to the ship the Holland American M/S Prinsendam and get boarded without any difficulty as the cruise started in Fort Lauderdale, FL so only about 170 people boarded in NYC. We have a very nice room with a balcony (Edward sprung for that without telling me). 

The Queen Mary is in the slip next to the M/S Prinsendam at New York City.

Cruising down the Hudson River we see the New York skyline, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, ship traffic and going under the Verrazano Bridge.  It is a foggy day so the pictures are not so perfect.

NYC
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NYC - Hudson River
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Ship arrives at Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Overcast and foggy but we go onshore to see what is in the town.   We go to shore on the Life Boats!  It was very choppy and to get on and off the tender was a little tricky.  Coming back we were sitting by the open door Edward suggested I move to the other side to keep the wind and spray from getting on me.  I moved over and guess what????  A big wave came right in the door where I had been sitting and gave Edward a wash down!!!!  He was soaked from head to feet.  It is a chilly 57 degrees and the water is very cold. 

Tender Ride
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They have a section with several Gingerbread houses, cottages, hotels and tabernacle.

Martha’s Vineyard
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day at sea.  We are now out in the Atlantic Ocean.  Next stop will be the Azores Islands on Tuesday, May 24th.  This will be the longest time without seeing land or having a stop.  The ship has lots of activities.  They have a free Tech Class so I have bee taking advantage of it to learn about photos, blogs, email, computer security, etc.  They have classes several times during the day so you can always fit one in the schedule.  Internet is not so great when you are hundreds of miles from land.  The M/S Prinsendam does not have the best reception.  I found in my class that I can work on the blog offline using Microsoft Windows Live Writer and then just go online to publish.  This saves a lot of online time (meaning $$$).  It is difficult to adjust to paying of every minute online and you get knocked offline and have to start over several times.  Also, there are times when there is no service at all for hours at a time.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day at sea.  Still chilly and light rain but the waves have calmed down.  Nothing to take pictures of except water.  I wish we could see a whale or something jump out of the water but nothing so far.
Of course, now there is a guy on the ship that got a picture of a whale but I was not there to see it  I’m not sure I would even recognize one if I saw it unless it was very very close to the ship. 
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day at sea.  Warmed up to 70 degrees today with smooth water.  Nice and sunny.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day at sea.  Another warm 70 degree day, sunny and smooth water.  Today we are going on a tour of the ships kitchen and food prep. 
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day at sea.  Just a relaxing day. 
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Arrive at Praia di Vitoria, Azores 7:00 am.   Depart at 5:30 pm
We took the ship shuttle into the town - $7.00/person each way – A little pricey but not much of an option as it was a few miles and we had no idea how to get there. It was probably good that we took it as the town was not very large but had several roundabouts and I’m sure we would have taken a wrong turn. We found a bar/snack place and went in to get a bottle of water. It was about 10:00 am. I noticed a young man with a computer and ask if they had wi-fi in the bar area and he said no but I’m using the one from next door that is closed. So we promptly sit and turned on our computer and iPad and got on the internet. The ship’s internet is very slow and goes out often and stays out for long periods of time. I have not been able to update the blog on the ship and I still was not able to publish the blog in the café. I will talk with the tech guy on the ship to see if he can figure out what the problem could be and see if we can get it to work.
We roamed around the town for a while and looked in some shops and gardens and plazas. Not much going on in this sleepy little village on an island in the Azores. We went to the bus stop and got on the shuttle back to the ship.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day at sea. The wind has picked up considerably today and we are having a rough ride today. The Captain just came on the speaker and gave the news it’s 62 degrees and wind is 25 mph with gusts much higher and higher winds are expected to continue today and increase to 45+ mph. Waves are 7-12 feet today so tomorrow should really be interesting.
Not much going on the ship today so we thought we would do some laundry. The self-laundry is free and they have detergent also. Not very exciting to do on a cruise but I’m just writing on the computer anyway so I can do that anywhere. Edward is reading his Kindle – I think his 3^rd or 4^th book already.
Finished the laundry and now we are watching the French Open on TV today. No one is out near the open pool areas. Most must be in their room, the library, bars and none windy areas. Not a good time to be out for the people in wheel chairs or walkers or canes. The dance tonight should be interesting to see.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day at sea. Scheduled to arrive this afternoon in Lisbon, Portugal 6:30 pm.
As predicted by the Captain we had a rough night at sea.  The waves are 12-18 ft and more and winds of 48-55 mph or Force 9 Gale, and temperature of 62 degrees.  The ship was rolling from side to side up and down.  It was difficult to sleep and we woke up several times during the night.  It was not the gentle rocking we had previous nights.  This morning the waves and wind have calmed a little and not as bad as last night but it is raining and conditions are much the same.  We must be going at a different heading as the ship in not rolling and rocking as much (yes, it is still difficult to walk) but not has noisy as it was with the up and down motion. This will be another day of staying in the cabin or inside the ship. We are happy to have our nice size room and the balcony. Although we can’t sit comfortably on the balcony but we can go out and check the temperature and sea conditions by just walking a few steps. I’m watching the French Open and typing and Edward is reading his book on the Kindle.

Reba’s Graduation

Saturday, May 14, 2011
Lunch with Reba.
Sunday, May, 15, 2011
Reba graduation.  Several family members are coming down from Fairfax for the ceremony today.  The graduation was held in the basketball complex and tickets required.  Only limited amount of tickets available to each student.  We happen to park near the area and decided to see if we could get in to see Reba.  I won’t go into details but we were able to get some tickets when someone came up and returned 2 tickets they were not going to use. 
They had a very energetic and inspirational speaker for the graduates.

Afterwards we all met at the Economics ceremony with all the family members.  Great to see everyone. 
Proud Uncle Edward and Aunt Elaine with Reba

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After the Graduation all of us went to a reception party given by one of Reba’s lodge mates parents.  We were able to meet several of the Phi Mu Sorority members and their family members.  A great time was had by all.  Later on we all went to dinner then later to Reba’s lodge to help her pack up her “stuff” to put it in all the cars available to take them to Fairfax.  It was a little more than any of us expected but the job was finally completed and Reba was able to check out. 

Sorority members at the reception.

Dinner after the reception with all the family.

Monday, May, 16, 2011
Up at 5:00 am to leave Williamsburg. Reba drives us to Richmond, VA to catch an 8:00 am train to New York City. It was very foggy that morning but we got there in plenty of time.  It was a nice relaxing train ride except for Edward’s Kindle going out on him.